The Calmest Force

[Boltaway]

The Calmest Force

My general fear before posting any set, team, or idea on Smogon is that it will be horrendously failurific, thus embarrassing me and tarnishing my record as a mediocre player for the rest of my life. Although that will probably happen, I am posting this team largely because I want to demonstrate how amazing Calm Mind Landorus is (back when BW first came out, an analysis suggesting this was locked). The general aim of this team, then, is to clear the field for a sweep by Landorus, while providing for alternative victory routes if Landorus faces untimely death.

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Defensive Core

Ursula (Jellicent) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 248 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Taunt​

When first creating this team, a little seadragon by the name of Kingdra occupied this slot, partly as a counter to the ubiquitous rain-team. With further battling, I soon found Kingdra to have little real use, that his roles were pretty much already on my team by other Pokémon. I attempted to use Suicune (great in UU, less effective in OU). I realized that my team was facing sever difficulties with Mamoswine, the glorified Dragon Slayer who could also kill my Landorus with one of his jagged tusks. I eventually decided upon Jellicent as my general Mamoswine counter. With a combination of Recover, Scald, and the ominous Cursed Body, Jellicent can eliminate Mamoswine, should it try to stay in. Expounding upon this, it is imperative that Mamoswine be eliminated before any sort of sweep is attempted -- the danger of this Pokémon to my team can't really be stressed since Jirachi and Magnezone are weak to Earthquake whereas Dragonite, Landorus, and Celebi are weak to Ice. Jellicent will always nab a 2HKO on Choice Scarf Mamoswine, with a 68.75% chance to OHKO in the rain. Jellicent can also Taunt Blissey and Gastrodon, while sponging hits from Latios (she takes 85.6% maximum from Draco Meteor, which I quickly Recover off), among other special attackers. Her ability's usefulness I cannot stress: never use a Choiced anything against the Cursed Body. Of course, I've compared it against the more often used Water Absorb and although it might give me some edge against rain teams (which my team already checks very well), Cursed Body has a usefulness specifically tailored to my team (since most of the Pokémon who often give me trouble are either Choiced or terrifying solely because of one move).

Pixie Dust (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Giga Drain
- Thunder Wave
​

Celebi functions gracefully as a defensive pivot with Natural Cure, allowing it to absorb Spore from Breloom and everything else. Arguably the greatest asset to any team, Celebi can reliably prop up Sneaky Stones on the opponent's field (for some reason or another, people don't think Celebi is going to set up Stealth Rock and therefore don't switch into their Magic Bouncer if they have one). With its typing, Celebi works as a great counter to rain teams (Politoed is generally disposed of through a combination of T-Wave and Giga Drain). Thunder Wave is just amazingly useful, particularly on the switch-in -- add upon that Jirachi's haxxy antics and you have a very annoying pixie duo. Naturally, Celebi attracts Skarmory and Scizor, at which point Magnezone takes over. Her EV's are designed under the assumption that a) Thunder Waver everything b) there is nothing worth outspeeding and c) taking physical hits as well as possible is a bigger priority. Without Recover, it's clear that Celebi's role is less affixed to longevity and more to spreading status and rocks, while keeping the opponent on their toes with U-Turn.

Trapper

Tron (Magnezone) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
- Magic Coat
​

This sci-fi miscreation has a stellar 130 base SpAtk, but the main attraction (ha, get it? attraction?) is Magnet Pull. With Celebi and Jellicent acting as lures for Scizor and Ferrothorn (respectively), I can clear the field for Dragonite or Landorus, who appreciates Pokémon such as Jirachi (Air Balloon variants in particular) and Bronzong off the field (Bronzong is something to be wary of since he carries Earthquake, so I often have to employ some creative switching with Jellicent and Celebi). I used Charge Beam for a short while, but soon found that Magnezone was easily outsped by whatever came shortly after and that T-bolt/HP Fire even at +2 failed to OHKO several things. Furthermore, wasting time Charge Beaming and setting up subs only resulted in Magnezone losing more and more HP. In response to Ferrothorn, who either uses Leech Seed or sets up hazards, I gave Magnezone Magic Coat, which allows him to keep hazards off my field (no Rapid Spinners here) and on the opponent's.

Hax Core

Wish-Upon-A-Hax (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
- Trick
- Iron Head
​

Despite its nickname, this Jirachi is less focused upon the boon of hax and more focused upon being the bane of stall, as well as eliminating or weakening key offensive threats. Blissey, Skarmory, Latias, Deoxys-D, Gastrodon, Reuniclus -- whatever it is, it's bound to be locked into a single attack by Jirachi's mischievous Trick. The only thing I really have to worry is tricking scarf onto something that could prove fatal, like Landorus (this doesn't happen to me, but it's worth noting). U-turn is incredibly useful as it eases prediction and allows me to go into the best-suited Pokémon. Iron Head blows Mamoswine to around 25% of his health; if he is switching in, Jirachi can 2HKO it -- Jirachi will outspeed Life Orb Mamoswine and Choice Scarf Mamoswine will fail to OHKO. Jirachi is particularly useful against the Latis (which give Landorus trouble) as it can 2HKO with Ice Punch or Trick Choice Scarf onto defensive Latias. Jirachi will outspeed and lay the hurt upon Thundurus-T, or with regards to Choice Scarfed variants, survive whatever he has and knock his lights out. A similar story applies to his brother as well, since Jirachi can 2HKO with Ice Punch, while surviving Heat Wave. Jirachi is also useful against Landorus as it can OHKO with Ice Punch after Stealth Rocks. This is difficult to ensure under sandstorm as Landorus will OHKO with Earthquake; thus, I will have to punch it on the switch-in to earn the OHKO. Salamence is OHKOed with Ice Punch; Dragonite as well (assuming Stealth Rock). Jirachi can survive a +1 Earthquake from Salamence, although it's a 6.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock. As Pokémon like Salamence will outspeed at +1 anyway, it is far more preferable to shift the EV's into HP, in order to survive the hits mentioned above. 20 Speed EV's give me 265 Speed, which allows me to outspeed all OU Pokémon without boosts.

Offensive Core

Barney (Dragonite) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- ExtremeSpeed
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage
​

My original dream was a SubPunch Roost set with some other coverage move -- upon learning that Focus Punch and Multiscale were not compatible, my unlikely dream set was called off. Multiscale is just too good to give up -- surviving almost every unboosted hit in the metagame allows Dragonite to act as a check upon things that might give my team trouble. Once Magnezone zaps steel-types off the field, I'm free to spam Outrage to my heart's content, although that's generally not a good idea. The move I find myself using most is Extremespeed as the whole point of Dragonite is to get rid of things (especially Life Orb sweepers and damaged set-up sweepers) that could otherwise cause my team problems. He can eliminate Mamoswine with Extremespeed after Jirachi's Iron Head. Dragonite is also useful for switching into status moves if Celebi is down as Lum Berry will heal it instantly, which is why I prefer this item over Choice Band. Given Dragonite's nature as a revenge killer/makeshift status sponge, I am not afraid to sacrifice it if conditions are suitable. The one time I won't do this is when Landorus has fainted -- in that case, I will generally hope upon a Dragonite Sweep.

Jafar (Landorus) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sludge Wave
​

I had to save the last slot for last. Calm Mind Landorus is an absolute beast -- Sheer Force Life Orb Earth Power is stronger than Sand Force Earthquake and able to cleanly OHKO or 2HKO unsuspecting foes. It's as if though everyone forgets Landorus has base 110 Sp Atk. The Pokémon that I generally seek to eliminate in order to sweep with Landorus are Mamoswine (and any other Ice Sharders), offensive water types like Starmie, and Steel types with Ground immunity (or air balloon). The first is a given -- Landorus' defensive stats aren't great anything to avoid the OHKO from the Ice Shard of any cold foe; the second is straightforward -- any water-type that can outspeed Landorus has the possibility of OHKOing with an Ice-type move (more on that later). The latter Pokémon only give me trouble if I decide to run Sludge Wave (the tradeoff between Sludge Wave and Focus Miss is pretty obvious, but without Sludge Wave he also fails to OHKO Defensive Breloom, Celebi, and Virizion and fails to 2HKO Gyarados; of course, if I chose Psychic I'd have the same conundrum with Steel/Psychic types). (Sludge Wave also comes with a chance to poison). Although I am probably going to be called a pansy, I prefer Sludge Wave for its accuracy over Focus Miss.

What's so great about Calm Mind Landorus is how often this catches the opponent off guard. At +1, this glorious sand genie becomes a force to reckon with. Switching in Gastrodon? 2HKOed. Switching in Politoed? 2HKOed and will survives defensive variants' Ice Beams. Going to switch in that mother of all physical walls Skarmory of yours? Nope, 2HKOed. It's not just the Sheer Force of his attacks, but his ability to act as a lure for common switch-ins which make this set so effective. At +1, the only Bulky Water not 2HKOed by this set is...just kidding! It doesn't exist. Furthermore, Landorus can take most Scalds and even Ice Beams from water-types who lack investment in Special Attack, even in the rain. Having the opponent think Landorus is physical can also play out amusingly when I send it out in front of a Pokémon like Volcarona and Calm Mind as they retreat under the assumption I'd use Stone Edge. OHKOing Gliscor as opposed to 2HKOing with a physical variant is also useful. With +1 Defense, Landorus has the potential to survive Choice Scarfed Landorus's HP Ices and OHKO back with his own.

Due to how easy it is to phaze out a Pokémon or slowly kill it with Toxic, CM Landorus is intended to be used as a late-game sweeper when his counters have either been weakened or eliminated. When the hazards are set and the checks are down, Landorus the glorious Life Orbed Sand Genie arises out of his sandy maelstrom and mercilessly massacres teams with Sheer Force.

•••••​

Importable

Jafar (Landorus) (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Sludge Wave

Ursula (Jellicent) (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Cursed Body
EVs: 248 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Toxic
- Recover
- Taunt

Tron (Magnezone) @ Leftovers
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 36 HP / 252 SAtk / 220 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Substitute
- Magic Coat

Barney (Dragonite) (F) @ Lum Berry
Trait: Multiscale
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- ExtremeSpeed
- Fire Punch
- Dragon Dance
- Outrage

Wish-Upon-A-Hax (Jirachi) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Atk / 20 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Ice Punch
- U-turn
- Trick
- Iron Head

Pixie Dust (Celebi) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Giga Drain
- Thunder Wave

If you read all of my technical garble, thank you! I mean seriously, my fingers are really killing me. I will get around to finishing the threat list by tomorrow (it's 6am right now); either way, don't forget to give suggestions and (be)rate my team!


​

 

[Boltaway]

Reserved for Threatlist

 

[Miles Tails]

Boltaway Hi this is a good team, watching the team from above it appears to be solid and put him and easily defeated by Tornadus-T is giving Hurricane a lifetime on your team besides it does not die easy thanks to its Ability Regenerator, so I suggest you change your Jirachi for a Sp.Defensive Jirachi, so you lose your scarf so I suggest you also change the set of for a Choice Scarf Magnezone, much like the Celebi but it does not change this set with the set it for a Celebi Offensivo more so you will make more pressure on the opponent allowing the further weakening of Landorus to win the game with your opponent's team already weak, here are the sets.

Sets:

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Jirachi (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Spd / 232 sdef
Careful Nature:
-Stealth Rock
-Wish
-Body Slam
- Iron Head

Jirachi is the best counter to Tornadus easy as it comes in Hurricane which is the main blow has moreover access Wish making it useful life is greater.

Magnezone (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 S.Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Timid Nature:
-Volt-Switch
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-Flash Cannon

Well now with my suggestion to change the Jirachi you lose your Revenger Killer suggest to replace the Choice Scarf Magnezone he will continue to maintain its role as the team besides Steel Trapper team will be able to Job and moreover will work just fine as a result scounter Volt Switch.


Celebi (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 176 HP / 152 SpA / 180 Spe
Modest Nature:
-Leaf Storm
-Recover
-Hidden Power (Fire)
-U-Turn/Earth Power


Since Jirachi have access to Stealth Rock is not necessary to use this set defensive Celebi, Celebi has that much raw power while achieving that he can defend attacks thanks to the evs in HP, so you can give more pressure on the team opponent causing the opponent to think hard before entering the Celebi, with all these advantages he still works with the combo Volt-Turn next to Magnezone, Life Orb is an option in place of Leftovers to ensure more damage, Earth Power can also be used in place of U-Turn if you want to get Heatrans.

Well that's it, I have helped!

 

[bluewooper]

Hey there Boltaway, your team looks pretty nice, what I like about it in particular is the way that you have a planned strategy and how each pokemon contributes to it in some way. However, I did note that you are slightly weak to a CelebiTran core. Also, the water types that go with them (Slowbro and Jellicent) cause you grief.

The Problem:

Basically, you have the problem that any CelebiTran core with any kind of support is going to end up walling you to a lot of places and back. Excluding any superhax Jirachi feats, Heatran sturdily walls everything that it has to offer, and will commence to do things (like burn) that this team doesn't appreciate. Magnezone is way to slow to nab any Heatran with Thunderbolt, and any damage you will do is unlikely to kill it, as seen by this:

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Thunderbolt vs. 0hp/4spd Heatran: 50.5% - 59.8%
Thunderbolt vs. Standard Tormenttran 34.6% - 40.9%

Additionally, Dragonite really can't touch Heatran, which is actually pretty surprising to me, and I'll address that later. Celebi, armed with Natural Cure, has nothing to fear from your gellatinous Jellicent. Finally, your Jirachi can only hope to nail a Heatran on a switchin or be using U-Turn to prevent Heatran from doing too much damage by beggining to Substitute, or worse, use something like Will-O-Wisp that will wear down Jellicent, whom I would assume would be your best counter for Heatran. That leaves only Landorus who can swat both of the little critters, however, more often than not, Celebi and Heatran are joined by a bulky water that can cause Landorus to either die after dealing ~80% or to switch out again. All in all, this is a bad combination.

My Suggestions:

The first thing that concerned me from the start was Dragonite's inability to hit Heatran. You have fire punch, which I understand is used to hit things like Ferrothorn and Scizor and Forretress. However, all three of those are trapped and killed by Magnezone. There really is no need for that, as you are just losing out on coverage. Earthquake, in my opinion, is much more effective on that set. With that addition, Heatran becomes setup opportunity for Dragonite, which further advances your goal, while checking a threat. The Celebi weakness is a bit harder to fix, because it knows a ton of effective moves, and any combination of them is difficult to counter effectively. There was a point in time when I was considering actually suggesting the removal of Jirachi for Scarfed Rotom-H, which could deal with a lot of threats in this Metagame, and he could trick, too. However, there is a much better pokemon for this job. Consider replacing Jirachi with Heatran.

Hide

Heatran @ Choice Scarf
Modest: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
~Fire Blast
~Hidden Power Ice
~Earth Power
~Stealth Rock

This does a whole lot for this team. First off, as prevously stated, this does counter all forms of Celebi not carrying Earth Power. Secondly, this, like Jirachi before it, can revenge kill a great adversary of yours, Mamoswine. It may seem odd to have Stealth Rock on this set, but Heatran doesn't lose out much on coverage by having it. Also, from past experience, I find that a lot of opponents who see a Heatran laying down rocks instantly remove Scarftran from they would think he is. He can surely find a way to come in on one of his 4x resistances and lay them down early game. Hidden Power Ice is quite useful to deal damage to opposing Dragonite and Salamence who have not Danced yet. Useful for double switches.

Finally, assuming that you adopt that poor little Heatran at the shelter over there, one more change is going to really change this team. Now that Heatran has Stealth Rock, Celebi really won't need it. This allows him to get the Recovery he so richly deserves. Recover over Stealth Rock on Celebi will extend the lifespan of the core, and of the team.

Closing Thoughts:

I really do like this team because, as I said before, everyone has a job to do and does it quite well, making way for either of two sweeps. With the addition of Heatran, this team boasts an effective Fire Water Grass core, that has proven time and time again its effectiveness in this metagame. I hope that you implement my suggested changes and boast success with this team.